View the March 4th Penalty Box Post newsletter (includes graphics & photos)
Golden Gopher Fund's “March On to Victory Campaign” now open through next Tuesday, March 10
The "March On to Victory Campaign", the Golden Gopher Fund's collection of fundraisers each supporting a specific University of Minnesota varsity sport, is now open and runs through next Tuesday, March 10. As the official booster club of the Gopher Women's Hockey team, the Power Play Club is additionally promoting their specific fundraiser, aligning with the club's primary objective of providing financial support for the program.
For more information and to make a donation, visit crowdfund.umn.edu/campaigns/Gopher-Womens-Hockey-MOTV26. Please also see the video message from GWH head coach Brad Frost regarding the team's need for additional funding.
Goals for a Goal
Thank you once again to everyone who has submitted a pledge for our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program for the 2025-2026 season. Through this past weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team netted 171 goals, with 27 coming on the power play!! If you still wish to make a pledge, please do so online at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, where you'll also have the option to double the amount for power play tallies! All proceeds go back to the team through the Gopher Women's Hockey Enhancement Fund!
2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Face-off
Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, Saint Paul
Semifinals – Thursday, March 5
#1 Wisconsin (1st seed) vs. #14 MN State (5th seed) – 4:00 p.m.
#4 Minnesota (3rd seed) vs. #2 Ohio State (2nd seed) – 7:30 p.m.
Championship – Saturday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Following a trip to Duluth last year, the WCHA Final Faceoff returns to the Twin Cities in 2026 but this time at the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul. The event still features four nationally-ranked teams, but with one making its first appearance at the event in 17 years. Top-ranked and top-seeded Wisconsin will face Minnesota State in the first semifinal tomorrow – Thursday, March 5 – at 4:00 p.m., and the 3rd-seeded Golden Gophers will face 2nd-seeded Ohio State in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The winners will advance to the championship game on Saturday, March 7, at 2:02 p.m.
Tournament television/video coverage – Continuing the WCHA's partnership, all three Final Faceoff contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Semifinal #1 / Semifinal #2 / Championship). Additionally, all three will also be broadcast on FOX 9+ in the Twin Cities, with streaming of that station through Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, and YouTube TV.
GWH audio coverage – Audio play-by-play with Dan Hamann will be available for Thursday's semifinal between Minnesota and Ohio State on GopherSports.com. Audio will also be available for Saturday's championship should the Gophers advance.
Ticket information – Once again, all-session packages and single-session tickets are on sale through the St. Thomas Ticket Office online here or via phone at 651-962-5900.
The upper-level Capital Club sections have been designated as reserved seating, while main bowl sections are designated as general admission. Note that all ticket prices include parking and facility fees.
All-session packages are $50 for reserved seating, and general admission seating is $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, students & youth, and $25 per ticket for groups of 10 or more.
Individual day tickets – either semifinal Thursday or championship Saturday – are $35 for reserved seating, with general admission seating running $25 adults, $20 for seniors, students & youth, and $15 per ticket for groups of 10 or more.
How they got there...
Gophers eliminate St. Cloud State in three games to advance
Though facing a different opponent in the WCHA First Round in the form of St. Cloud State, Minnesota needed a deciding third game for the third-straight year to advance to the Final Faceoff. Hot goaltending for the Huskies enabled them to defeat the Gophers 1-0 in overtime in Game 1, but Minnesota responded by winning Games 2 & 3 by scores of 4-1 and 6-1, ending SCSU's season.
Huskies goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö was the story of the series opener as she stopped all 42 shots she faced to earn the shutout victory. She also played in Games 2 and 3, making an additional 82 saves across the two contests but yielding 8 goals (as the Gophers also scored two empty-netters). Hannah Clark played all three games for the Gophers, stopping 53 of 56 shots in total and only allowing one goal in each contest.
Grace Wolfe netted the lone goal of Game 1, scoring for the Huskies off a faceoff at the 4:50 mark of overtime; Laura Zimmermann earned an assist by winning that faceoff, then tallied her own goal in Game 3, while Maria Mikaelyan lit the lamp for SCSU in Game 2. Friday's shutout marked the first game against the Huskies this season that Abbey Murphy failed to find the back of the net and also ended Josefin Bouveng's scoring streak at 25 games, but seven Gophers – including Murphy & Bouveng – lit the lamp between Saturday and Sunday. Tereza Plosová opened the scoring in Game 2, Murphy netted two goals, Chloe Primerano added a power-play goal & two assists, and Sydney Morrow dished out 3 helpers. In the decider, Bella Fanale started the scoring and added a second goal, Bouveng recorded two goals and an assist, Jamie Nelson added a goal and an assist, Gracie Graham tallied her first goal of the season, and Primerano & Morrow each dished out two more helpers.
Ohio State finished second in the WCHA standings, only two points behind Wisconsin with a 24-4-0-0 (2-0 in OT) conference record plus a perfect 6-0-0 mark in non-conference play. The Buckeyes swept 7th-seeded St. Thomas in the quarterfinals, 5-1 and 4-1. Sara Swiderski tallied 2 goals & 2 assists in the opener and added an assist in Game 2 for a five-point series, and Hilda Svensson matched her with two goals & three assists. Sanni Vanhanen dished out two assists in Game 1 and lit the lamp twice in Game 2, while Mira Jungåker added a goal & three assists in the series and Joy Dunne recorded a goal & two helpers. Whitney Horton and Maddie Brown scored for the Tommies. Hailey MacLeod needed only 26 saves to earn both wins for the Buckeyes, while Julia Minotti stopped 66 shots for UST.
Wisconsin claimed their 11th WCHA regular-season championship with a 23-3-2-1 (1-1 in OT) conference record, plus a perfect 6-0-0 mark in non-conference action. The Badgers shut out 8th-seeded Bemidji State 7-0 on Friday, but needed overtime on Saturday to earn a 3-2 win and eliminate the Beavers. Caroline Harvey led the Wisconsin in total scoring with 4 assists, while Adéla Šapovalivová lit the lamp 3 times. Laila Edwards recorded a goal & an assist in the opener, then netted the game-winner 1:14 into the extra period in Game 2. Kirsten Simms added a goal & two assists and Maggie Scannell found the back of the net twice. Hailey Armstrong opened Saturday's scoring for Bemidji State, Morgan Smith scored with an extra attacker and 25.6 seconds remaining in regulation to force the overtime, and Kaitlin Groess & Ava Hills each made 44 saves.
Minnesota State used a 5-point sweep of St. Thomas in the final weekend of the regular season to move into fifth in the conference standings, posting a 9-17-2-1 (2-1 in OT) mark in WCHA play but a 6-0-0 non-conference record. Going north to face Minnesota Duluth in the first round, the Mavericks dropped the series opener as Madi Burr & Molly Cole scored for the Bulldogs and Ève Gascon stopped all 23 shots she faced for a 2-0 shutout victory; MSU netminder Hailey Hansen made 43 saves. Hansen stopped another 57 shots over nearly five periods in Game 2 before teammate Whitney Tuttle netted her second goal of the contest with 4:04 left in double overtime, giving the Mavericks a 2-1 win to even the series; Thea Johansson scored for UMD. The teams exchanged goals again to start the decider as MSU's Kianna Roeske scored 3:41 into the contest and Johansson lit the lamp for the Bulldogs; however, Ava Guillemette put the Mavericks back in the lead in period 2 and Hansen made it stand as the game-winner & series clincher, stopping 41 shots in total for a 2-1 victory.
Final Faceoff Semifinal Matchups
Minnesota vs. Ohio State – Much like last season, the Buckeyes are nearly certain to host an NCAA Tournament regional regardless of this weekend's results, but the Gophers are sitting fourth in the Collegiate National Percentage Index (NPI) and likely need a solid Final Faceoff showing to avoid having to go on the road to open the “Big Dance”.
Ohio State went 3-1-0 against Minnesota in the regular season. Meeting at Ridder Arena in October, the Buckeyes took the weekend opener, 4-1, but the Gophers responded with a 6-3 victory in the rematch. But OSU swept the series in Columbus last month, defeating Minnesota 4-2 and 3-1. Nelli Laitinen and Jamie Nelson each tallied a goal & two assists to lead the Gophers, while Madison Kaiser added a goal & an assist and Sydney Morrow dished out two helpers. Jocelyn Amos led Ohio State with five points on 2 goals & 3 assists in the season series, Maxine Cimoroni added 2 goals and 2 assists, Kaia Malachino tallied a goal & three helpers, and Joy Dunne recorded two goals and an assist. Hannah Clark played all four games between the pipes for Minnesota, posting a 3.29 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Hailey MacLeod started all four contests for the Buckeyes, posting a 2.36 GAA and .909 SV%, while Genny Klein played 34 minutes of relief in the Gopher win, stopping 11 of 13 shots (.846 SV%).
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota State – Also like last season, the Badgers are comfortably in the NCAA Tourney field, likely as the #1 seed. The Mavericks would need to win the Final Faceoff and earn the conference's autobid to advance to the Dance.
Wisconsin swept the season series, shutting out MSU 4-0 & 8-0 in Madison in October and winning 4-1 & 5-1 in Mankato last month. Claire Enright and Lacey Eden each posted 3 goals & 4 assists for the Badgers against the Mavericks, Cassie Hall tallied 4 goals and 2 assists, Kelly Gorbatenko recorded 2 goals & 4 assists, and Finley McCarthy, Marianne Picard & Adéla Šapovalivová each added 2 goals and 3 assists. Lauren Zawoyski & Ava Guillemette lit the lamp for Minnesota State. Wisconsin netminder Ava McNaughton stopped all 48 shots she faced in the October series and Rhyah Stewart made 42 saves on 44 shots (.955 SV%) in February. Hailey Hansen started three of the four games in goal for MSU, posting a 5.14 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage, while Kaydence Roeske stopped 33 of 38 shots (.868 GAA) in her lone start and Avery Stilwell stopped 10 of 14 shots (.714 SV%) in a two-period relief appearance.
Abbey Murphy becomes GWH all-time leading goal scorer
Gopher Women's Hockey co-captain Abbey Murphy took sole possession of the top spot on Minnesota's all-time career goal scoring list on Saturday, lighting the lamp for her 140th time in the Maroon & Gold and later adding goal #141!!
Murphy passed Gopher alumna (and now Ohio State head coach) Nadine Muzerall after pulling even in January. The two goals this past weekend were also Murphy's 37th and 38th of 2025-2026, extending her personal single-season high.
Congratulations, Abbey!!
Abbey Murphy, Nelli Laitinen, Bella Fanale honored as finalists for WCHA end-of-season awards
We send our congratulations to the three Gopher Women's Hockey players named as finalists for WCHA end-of-season awards for 2025-2026.
In an announcement from the league yesterday, Abbey Murphy was named as a WCHA Forward of the Year finalist, Nelli Laitinen was named as a finalist for Defender of the Year, and Bella Fanale was honored as a finalist for Rookie of the Year.
The finalists for Goaltender, Outstanding Student-Athlete, and Coach of the Year were also announced. All award winners are expected to be named by the conference later today (Wednesday, March 4).
Other NCAA Division I conference tournaments...
With implications to the NCAA Tournament field, here's the schedule of other conference tournaments taking place this week. (Conference seedings listed ahead of team names.)
Atlantic Hockey America Championship
(2) Mercyhurst at (1) Penn State – Saturday (3/7) at 2:00 p.m. ET
ECAC Semifinals & Championship – Herb Brooks Arena, Lake Placid, NY
Semifinal #1 – (1) Yale vs. (4) Cornell – Friday (3/6) at 4:00 p.m. ET
Semifinal #2 – (2) Princeton vs. (3) Quinnipiac – Friday (3/6) at 7:00 p.m. ET
Championship Game – Saturday (3/7) at 5:00 p.m. ET
Hockey East Championship
(2) Connecticut at (1) Northeastern – Saturday (3/7) at 3:30 p.m. ET
NEWHA Semifinals & Championship – on campus sites
Semifinal – (3) St. Anselm at (2) Assumption – TODAY (Wed., 3/4) at 3:00 p.m. ET
Semifinal – (4) Stonehill at (1) Franklin Pierce – TODAY (Wed., 3/4) at 7:00 p.m. ET
Championship Game – Saturday (3/7) – Time TBA
Current National Percentage Index (NPI) Rankings
Top 10 plus other teams still active in respective conference tournaments
1. Wisconsin (31-3-2 overall record, 65.201 NPI)
2. Ohio State (32-4-0, 64.993)
3. Penn State (31-5-0, 60.827)
4. Minnesota (26-10-1, 59.459)
5. Northeastern (28-7-1, 58.961)
6. Connecticut (26-8-2, 58.156)
7. Quinnipiac (26-8-3, 57.708)
8. Yale (24-8-0, 57.315)
9. Princeton (23-9-0, 56.427)
10. Minnesota Duluth (20-14-3, 56.005)
11. Cornell (20-10-2, 55.544)
12. Mercyhurst (23-10-3, 54.339)
14. Minnesota State (17-18-2, 53.337)
26. Franklin Pierce (21-11-2, 49.675)
30. Assumption (19-15-3, 48.111)
31. Saint Anselm (18-17-1, 48.096)
33. Stonehill (18-16-2, 47.971)
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, March 8 at 11:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU. The playoff champions from the AHA, ECAC, Hockey East, NEWHA, and WCHA earn autobids to the 11-team field. Rankings and NPI calculations courtesy of USCHO.com.
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